Minister to go ahead with Burn A Koran Day in Florida on 9/11

Fundamentalist minister
Terry Jones is to ignore warnings from the White House, army generals and thousands of demonstrators across the Middle East to go ahead with his intended Burn-a-Koran Day.

Pastor Terry Jones says he is going forward with a scheduled burning of the Koran this weekend

The Rev Terry Jones, who carries a pistol since he started receiving death threats, confirmed last night he would burn copies of the Islamic holy book to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

‘When do we stop? How many times do we back down?’ the 58-year-old said.

‘It’s time to send a message to radical Islam that we will not tolerate their behaviour.’

But he and his 50-strong Dove World Outreach Center in the usually progressive city of Gainesville, Florida, seem to be in the minority.

‘Images of the burning of a Koran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan – and around the world – to inflame public opinion and incite violence,’ said Gen David Petraeus.

Mr Jones’ plan evoked outrage at a street protest in the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday.

‘It is the duty of Muslims to react,’ said one candidate in next week’s Afghan parliamentary elections.